1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to a travel search engine and in particular to sharing search results with one or more users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a travel search engine is a computer system that is accessible over the Internet and that is configured to receive from users search requests for travel reservations. Travel reservations include reservations for flights, accommodations (e.g., hotels), transportation (e.g., car rentals) cruises, and any other aspect of a travel experience for which reservations are generally offered. A travel search engine queries multiple travel related websites (e.g. specific travel providers like American Airlines), search engines (e.g., Travelocity, Orbitz), and other sources for specific travel reservation information as requested by a user. The travel search engine returns to the user integrated search results from the different sources queried.
In many cases two (or more users) want to travel together, for example, take the same flight, stay at the same hotel, etc. In conventional travel search engines, a user's search results are separate from any other user's search results. Thus, users who are travelling together (e.g., friends, spouses, co-workers), but working at different computers, would have to conduct the same search of a travel search engine (e.g., input the same origin, destination city, dates of travel, etc.) and then consult with each other by telephone or other means in order to plan their trip. If one person finds a travel reservation of interest, she has to tell the other traveler to look for that same search result on their screen. This process is inconvenient. In sum, conventional search engines do not allow one or more users to share and collaborate on their search results.